Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 January 2026
235. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage given the recent large discoveries in the Baltinglass Hillfort Complex of the largest nucleated settlement in prehistoric Ireland and Britain, the steps his Department is taking to fund further research and bring this archaeological history to a wider audience; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4934/26]
View answerThe complex of prehistoric monuments known as the Baltinglass Hillforts comprises up to thirteen hillforts indeed in southwest Wicklow and neighbouring parts of Kildare, representing the largest collection of such impressive, prehistoric monuments in Ireland or Britain. The importance of this hillfort landscape is very much appreciated and acknowledged by me and my Department.
The National Monuments Service of my Department through its Community Monuments Fund has supported a high resolution LiDAR survey over an area of over 100 square kilometres within this Baltinglass landscape. This enabled archaeologists to create, for the first time, a comprehensive map of the landscape and to better allow the landscape to be assessed for previously unidentified monuments.
The National Monuments Service has also supported research on the hillfort landscape through the Royal Irish Academy archaeology grants scheme. In addition, National Monuments Service has funded the recent publication of seminal excavations at Rathgall Hillfort, a publication launched in the Royal Irish Academy last year. We are proud to fund the Royal Irish Academy annual archaeological research grants to the tune of up to 250k each year. Specific funding for excavations at Baltinglass through the Academy grants have helped archaeologists reveal these recent discoveries and we will continue to support the archaeological research community across Ireland to ensure that further remarkable discoveries may be made to add to our understanding of Ireland’s past.
